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stressed out
Marking  Ends Meet 
Volume 7 Issues 76 Apr 2012
Greetings!

I hope you enjoy this eZine provided by DocUmeant.net --  DocUmeantDesigns.com and DocUmeantPublishing.com. We stand by our tagline: We Make YOU Look GOOD! 
Quote of the Month
Here's the advice that an experienced editor gave an expiring writer. "Learn to use both ends of your pencil equally."- Author Unknown 
Mission Statement
It Happened by Design - Kathy ThomasWords of Wisdom E-newsletter will attempt to always deliver sage advice and tidbits to assist you in your business and personal growth & development. Our purpose is simple; support, encourage and supply.  In an attempt to provide you with quality content and I welcome your feedback.

As always any tips you would like to share would be welcome
additions. Email me at [email protected] with any comments, articles, or tips that you would like to see considered for inclusion.

If you would like to have a featured advertisement on this
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On A Personal Note

Welcome back to Words of Wisdom Ezine. This month bodes to be busy. For starters I am hoping to get back to choir practice and I have two trips that I will be making this month. One trip that I am looking forward to this month is to the Florida Publisher's Association Conference in Orlando. I hope to learn more about the upcoming epublishing changes to better help you along your paths to authorship.

However, for now I am going to share with you a couple of ideas in this month's Feature Article on staying afloat in this turbulent economy.

As always, I hope you find the information informative and useful. It is for you and the benefit of your company that I continue to offer this Words of Wisdom Ezine.

Wishing you a God filled day!
Ginger Marks

Making Ends Meet     

 

Now that things are slowing down and our business budgets are tighter than ever, most small business owners are struggling to make ends meet. We still need to keep stock, maintain a social media presence, and market our wares. Even those of us whose wares are our services, rather than physical products are being affected.

 

Trimming the fat is necessary, but what you trim out of your budget needs to be carefully considered. For example, while you may have used a virtual assistant to keep you in the social media limelight, with this tightening you may have had to cut this service out of your budget. I certainly hope that if you did that you are keeping it up yourself. If not, I can assure you that you need to rehire and rethink.

 

Some things can be done away with, but a good virtual assistant is worth their weight in gold.

 

Jodie Burdette, the owner of TheOSP puts it this way, "It takes a lot to maintain your business and your brand's visibility.  After all keeping your name out there is how you advertise your products or services AND attract clients.   You have a blog to maintain, newsletters to write, a social media presence to maintain and more.  On top of that you have your current clients needs to take care, marketing to attract new clients and you need to work on creating new products and launching each one.  If you try to take care of all of this yourself your business is going to suffer and you are going to burn yourself out.

 

A good VA can take care of much of this and in way less time than you would spend trying to do it yourself.  Plus, an experienced VA has seen it all (good and bad) and can offer suggestions to improve your products, unique ways to market them, put you in touch with potential joint venture partners you didn't even know existed and more. A quality VA is not just an assistant she (or he) truly is a partner in your business and is invested in your success.  Making you look good, makes your VA look good."

 

Now let's look at other ways to make your budget while marketing your business. During your time socializing I am pretty sure you've met other business owners in compatible or even the same field. These entrepreneurs are most likely in the same predicament as you. Why not consider working together? You can even hold a seminar, tape it, and sell the replay and transcripts. Talk to other business owners and get started right away.

 

These are a couple of marketing ideas, but I also have a suggestion, or rather a comment to make. Price it right and reap the rewards. No matter how good your product or servicestressed out is if you don't price it right you are only hurting yourself. Over pricing is just as detrimental as under pricing.

 

When setting your prices, consider not only the time and costs, but also software and education. If you are fresh out of college or a twenty year veteran in your industry just going solo, your rates should reflect that experience. Yes, be consistent with your industry, but establish a fair price within the industry norms. Cut-rate products and services are often thought of as inferior. So don't under value yourself or your products if you want to be successful. And, don't be afraid to raise your prices as you gain knowledge and experience. Sure you may lose a client or customer along the way, but that is bound to happen regardless.

 

So as you continue to seek ways to reweave those fraying financial cords, consider carefully the lessons and insights shared. Remember, action left undone reaps no reward.

 

 

� Copyright 2012 Ginger Marks

 

 

Ginger Marks is the founder of the DocUmeant Family of Companies, We Make YOU Look GOOD! For more information, visit http://www.documeantdesigns.com/. Her 2011 annual edition of Holiday Marketing Guide, Your business-marketing calendar of ideas is now available at http://www.HolidayMarketingGuide.com.

 

 

  Tip of the Month

When you focus on the solution rather than the problem you are bound to come up with answers. 

 

 

Until next month...
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"I am making a sincere attempt a reading all my email now. Good stuff! " 


Julie Wolf  

http://SeeYouOnSkype.com

PS Love the clown graphic on your eBook!
 
 

I hope you are learning much and implementing the lessons learned in the WOW Ezine. If you enjoy it, why not tell your friends how to get their very own copy? I would love to hear from you how WOW Ezine has affected your business and you.
 

Sending in your comments guarantees you free marketing! Get your business' URL listing absolutely gratis by sending in your comments today. If you have comments or questions that you would like to see included, or even a suggestion for a topic, please contact me at [email protected] with the word 'Feedback' in the subject line.
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The
2012 Weird & Wacky Holiday Marketing Guide,
Your business marketing calendar of ideas.



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Thank you for spending a few minutes with me. I welcome your feedback and support. Until next month.
 
Sincerely,
 

Ginger Marks
DocUmeant Designs